Deuteronomy 34
DEATH, BURIAL, AND ENCOMIUM OF MOSES (vs. 1-12)
After blessing the people, Moses, in obedience to the
Divine command, ascended
Mount Nebo, the highest peak of the Pisgah range, and
thence surveyed the whole
on
the east of the
1 “And
Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo,
to the top of Pisgah,” - rather, unto
over against
Dan,” - Not Dan Laish, near the central source of the
Gilead, but another Dan in Northern Perea,
the site of which has not yet been
discovered (compare Genesis 14:14).
2 “And all
Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all
the
Mediterranean (compare ch.
11:24). 3 And the
south,” - the Negeb, the
pasture-land in the south, towards the
extending from
wide prospect could not be surveyed by any ordinary power of vision; so
that Moses must for the occasion have had his power of vision
miraculously increased. There is no ground for supposing that he saw
the
scene in an ecstatic vision, and not with his bodily eyes - “the
city of
palm trees, unto Zoar. 4 And the
LORD said unto him, This is the land
which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto
Jacob, saying, I will
give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to
see it with thine eyes, but thou
shalt not go over thither.”
Moses’ Vision (vs. 1-4)
The end of Moses, viewing the land to which he had so long
and so
painfully been leading the people, yet not permitted to enter it,
dying on the
threshold of the accomplishment of all his hopes, and leaving
won
by his subordinate minister, Joshua, — has often been likened to the
common fate of the highest characters in history, “removed from
this
earthly scene before their work has been appreciated, and when it
will be
carried on, not by themselves, but by others.” (See the
development of the
thought in
Lord Bacon by Macaulay.) Often, also, it has been likened to the visions of
the
“land
beyond the flood” (Joshua 24:3) received through faith by dying
Christians. They,
however, see a land into which they are soon to enter;
Moses looked on one from which he was debarred. This vision
was:
·
A COMPENSATION FOR A GREAT LOSS. Not permitted to enter
take in the vision of its goodliness from north to south, from
east to west.
How his spirit must have feasted
on the widespread prospect! This
compensation, we remember, was won from God by prayer (ch. 3:23-39).
We cannot always gain reversal of
our punishment of loss; no, though
we seek it carefully, with tears (Hebrews 12:17). But, while
the losses
remain, they may be
sanctified to us, and, in answer to prayer, gracious
compensations and mitigations granted.
·
A PERFECTING OF HOLY RESIGNATION. Then, no doubt, while
looking on that good land, and feeling that he could not enter it,
would
Moses have
his last struggle, and conquer his last lingering wish to have it
otherwise than as God willed. We know how sore the struggle in his
mind
had been, how earnestly he had wrestled with God to have the
sentence
reversed (ch. 3:23-29). But it was not to
be, and Moses must learn to say,
as the Greater than Moses said long after, “Not
my will, but thine be done!”
(Luke 22:42). Who doubts but
that the sacrifice was made? that Moses was
brought to the point of perfect acquiescence before he died? And that
in
truth was a greater compensation than the other. The achieving so great a
spiritual victory was well worth the surrender of the land. That victory,
too, would take the sting of the trial away. The worst part of
a trial —
nearly all that is bitter in it — is past, when we are brought to the point
of embracing THE
DIVINE WILL IN IT!
·
A TRANSITION TO A HIGHER HOPE. Is it possible to think that
Moses, in laying down his life
on that mountain summit, believed that he
was laying it down forever? Could he believe, after all the
relations of
friendship which had subsisted between him and Jehovah, in view of
that
land of promise from which he was debarred, and at this very
moment of
his greatest spiritual triumph, — that his death ended all? that there was no
hereafter? that there was no compensation
beyond? We may
rather believe
that, in this very perfecting of his soul in its holy acquiescence
in the Divine
will, there would spring up in his mind a holier
hope — a trust and
assurance that all he now surrendered would be made up
to him in some
better form in heaven. What
we part with on earth for Christ’s sake
are our
ultimate gains.
5 “So
Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab,
according to the word of the LORD.” - literally, at the mouth of
the Lord. The rabbins interpret this, “by a kiss of the Lord” (‘Baba Bathra,’
17 a); i.e. as Maimonides explains it (‘More Nevoch.,’ 3:51), Moses “died
in a moment of holiest joy in the knowledge and love of
God.” The phrase,
however, simply means “by or according to the command of” (compare
Genesis 45:21; Exodus 17:1; Leviticus
24:12; Numbers 3:16).
6 “And He
buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against
Bethpeor: but no man knoweth
of his sepulchre unto this day.”
The valley in which God is supposed to have buried Moses
was probably
some depression on the Pisgah range, upon or close by Nebo. The rabbins say
that Moses was buried by retiring into a cavern, where he died and where
his
body remained. It is probable that, like
Enoch and Elijah, he
was transferred to the invisible world without seeing corruption. Hence
his
appearance along with Elijah in bodily form on the Mount of the
Transfiguration; and hence also, perhaps, the tradition of
the contest for
the body of Moses between Michael and Satan (Jude 9). If the body of
Moses was actually
buried, the concealment of his grave so that no man
knew of it may be justly regarded as the first instance on record of the
providential obliteration, so remarkably exemplified
afterwards in the
gospel history, of the ‘ holy places’ of
against their elevation to a sanctity which might endanger the
real holiness
of the
history and religion which they served to commemorate. The reverence
which the Jews paid to graves shows that there was no small
danger of their
coming under a superstitious regard to that of Moses had it been
known.
Moses’ Death
and Burial (vs. 5-6)
Lessons from it:
·
GOD WILL HAVE NO ONE, LIVING OR DEAD, TO STAND
BETWEEN HIS CREATURES AND HIMSELF. Moses dies apart,
and is
buried in secret, where his grave can be dishonored by no
pilgrimage, and
where no false veneration can rear altars to his memory.
·
GOD WISHES MEN TO SEE SOMETHING MORE LEFT OF HIS
SERVANTS THAN THE OUTWARD SHRINE. They had the life and
words of Moses, which his shrine might have obscured. It was
expedient
that even Jesus should go away, that His spiritual presence and
the spiritual
significance of His work might be fully realized (John 16:7).
·
GOD TAKES THE HONOR OF HIS SERVANTS INTO HIS OWN
KEEPING.
·
GOD WOULD TEACH MEN THAT HE HAS A RELATION TO
HIS SERVANTS WHICH EXTENDS BEYOND DEATH. Can the
Maker put so disproportionate an
estimate upon His own handiwork, as
carefully to store up the casket and throw away the precious jewel
which it
held?
·
GOD WOULD TEACH MEN THAT HIS REGARD IS NOT
CONFINED TO ANY
We have one more lesson from the
New Testament:
·
THAT THE SEEMING FAILURE IN A TRUE LIFE MAY AT
LAST HAVE A COMPLETE COMPENSATION. Moses did at last, with
Elias, tread the soil of
His
beauty” (Isaiah 33:17).
7 “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his
eye was not dim, nor his natural force
abated.” Though
Moses had reached
the
age of a hundred and twenty years, his eye had not become dim, nor were
the
juices of his body dried. Natural force. The word so rendered
(j"le) occurs
only here; but it is doubtless the substantive
connected with the adjective jl"
moist, fresh (compare Genesis 30:37; Numbers 6:3), and properly means
moisture, freshness. It is used here of the natural juices of the
body.
8 “And the
children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab
thirty days:” -
The people mourned for Moses thirty days,
as they did for
Aaron (Numbers 20:29) - “so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses
were ended.”
The Calm Sunset of an
Eventful Day (vs. 1-8)
A man’s death is in keeping with a man’s life. You cannot
have a tropical
sunset in an arctic zone. It is vain to live the life of the
voluptuous, and
desire “the death of the righteous.”
Enoch’s death corresponded with
Enoch’s life. (Genesis 5:24) The
spirit of Elijah was characterized by heavenly
fire: he ruled men with burning words of truth; it was, therefore, meet that
he
should depart as a king, “in a chariot of flame.” (II Kings
2:11) Our Lord’s whole
life was a crucifixion — sublime self-sacrifice; it was fitting, then, that
He should
die
upon a cross. Moses was transcendently great; in native grandeur he
towered like a mountain above his brethren. To be in the society
of God
was
his delight; hence there was a propriety that he should die alone, and
upon the mount with God.
·
THE DEATH OF A GOOD MAN HAS MANY GRACIOUS
MITIGATIONS. It
is not un-mingled sorrow. The evil in it is reduced to
an infinitesimal point. It is a passing cloud, while the sun
in its strength
shines on the other side, and often penetrates the thin vapor. It
is not the
valley of humiliation, but the mount of communion. Visions denied
to us
before are vouchsafed to us now. God is
nearer to us than ever yet; and
though earthly friends cannot accompany us along the mystic path, strong
angels are at our side to bear us on their wings to the
glory-land.
“The
chamber where the good man meets his fate
Is
privileged above the common walks of life;
Almost upon the very verge of heaven.”
·
DEATH OFTEN REVEALS TO US WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE
ATTAINED. In
the hour of dissolution, Moses saw what he
might have
enjoyed if he had neglected no opportunity in the past. That faulty past
is
irrecoverable. We may obtain
pardon the most ample and complete; but we
cannot regain lost ground. Well for us if, on our deathbeds, we
have only
one fault to bemoan; and yet one fault may entail immeasurable
loss. When
we stand face to face with death, we shall see the value of life as we have
never seen it yet; we shall lament our negligence’s as we have never
lamented them before.
What illustrious characters we might have acquired!
What conquests of good we might
have won! What service for God we
might have wrought! Alas! some
well-meant purpose still remains immature!
·
DEATH TO A GOOD MAN IS NEEDFUL FOR FULL POSSESSION.
The
land which God had sworn to give to Abraham and his seed,
Moses was permitted to see, and
in part to possess. Yet, had he gone
over
soul would not have been satisfied therewith. As his powers of soul
matured and ripened, he would have desired a better inheritance
than
beseech thee, show me thy glory.”
(Exodus 33:18) The soul yearns for
knowledge which earth does not permit. We long to pass the barriers
of
darkness and tread the plains of everlasting light. Impatiently the
spirit
beats against the bars of this fleshly cage, and longs to find
her proper wings.
We must pass through the dark
gateway of death ere the soul can enter upon
the full “inheritance of the saints.”
·
THE DEATH OF A GOOD MAN IS IN PART THE PROCESS OF
NATURAL LAW, IN PART THE
PENALTY OF MORAL LAW. So far
as man partakes of animal life, so far he is under the law,
which rules
animal natures. In every animal species we discern the stages of:
Ø
birth,
Ø
growth,
Ø
maturity,
Ø
decay,
Ø
death.
But man is endowed with regal
powers, which give him, in some measure,
dominion over his animal
nature. Yet, as a fact, men die before
their
physical powers have decayed. In earlier ages of human history, human
life
reached to centuries, while now barely to four score years. (It is
very
sobering to realize I am in my eighth decade of life, through the
mercies
of God. It has always
been so from my youth, and so much the more as
I/we see the day
approaching! CY – 2020) Moses was called to die, but
“his eye was not dim, nor had his natural force abated.” In his case we
are authoritatively informed that his premature decease was
due to guilt.
The moral conduct of men does
operate, then, in modifying the laws of
nature. There is an unseen law — a law of God — which interlaces
the
laws and forces of the visible world, just as the system of
nerves interlaces
and animates the muscles of human flesh. The time and the mode
of the
believer’s death are not the outcome of natural law; they are fixed
by the
wisdom and the kindness of OUR PERSONAL GOD!
·
THE LIFELESS BODIES OF THE SAINTS ARE THE ESPECIAL
CARE OF GOD. “God
buried him in a valley in the
is a secrecy and a mystery about Moses’ burial, which it
would be profanity
to attempt to penetrate. On a later page of Scripture we read
that,
respecting this body of Moses, Michael had a serious dispute with the
devil. We feel bound to connect this mysterious disposal of
Moses’ lifeless
body with the appearance of the same glorified body on the
Mount of
Transfiguration. But the point which concerns us at present is this;
God
has manifested in various ways His tender regard for the
mortal remains of
His servants. The elementary particles may dissolve, but the personal
organization shall survive. “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a
spiritual
body.” (I Corinthians
15:44) Yet, by the conserving power of
Deity, it is a
body still, though fitted more completely in the future as a
vehicle for
perception, interaction, motion, and free activity. We can be well
content
to entrust every interest we have in life with Him “who counts the very
hairs of our head.” (Matthew 10:30)
·
THE DEATH OF A GOOD MAN IS AN OCCASION FOR
EXTENSIVE SORROW. “The
children of
plains of
exposed faithfully their faults, and denounced their vices, they
knew they
had lost a genuine friend. Never would they look upon their
noble leader’s
face again. His fatherly interest in them could never be
replaced. Not till he
was gone did they learn what a fount of blessing he had
been. Had this
coming event been steadily kept before them, they would have
treated him
with more generous esteem, and would have rendered to his counsels
a
more loyal respect. Now they
lash themselves with just remorse. A good
man’s departure leaves a great vacancy in the Church and in the
social
circle. Shall we be thus missed when death hath laid us low?
Yet the days of mourning even for
a good man must cease. There are
sterner duties in life demanding unceasing care, and
our sorrow for the
departed ought to qualify us for future service.
9 “And
Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for
Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the
children of
hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded
Moses.”
The Last Journey of Moses (vs. 1-9)
(For other aspects of the death of Moses, “Death Immediately in View” -
ch.
32:48-52.) We have come at last to the closing scene. It is evidently
recorded by other hands; for “Dan” (v. 2) did not exist by that
name till a
much later period (See Judges 18:1, 27-29).
Vs. 10-12 indicate, moreover, a
period later still; very possibly, it may have been as far on as
the time of Ezra
when those verses were added. And whoever will make use of the formula, —
“early authorship, late editorship,” as applicable to the Book
of Deuteronomy,
will have in his hands a key which will enable him to unlock many of the
intricacies
with which unbelieving writers seek to worry us. In all probability there
was an
ample supply of men in the later schools of the prophets who
would be quite
equal to editorial work; and most assuredly, Ezra would not be
lacking in fitness
for
such service. By whomsoever written,
this closing chapter is a fitting
appendix to the words of the lawgiver himself.
He has to go up and die. In one
sense this is true of us all.
We are all on a
pilgrimage, at the close of which, on its earthly side, there must
be the act
of dying. But in
two respects there is a notable element in the journey of
the aged lawgiver: in one of these it was unique.
Ø
His act of dying was,
as much as his acts in life, one of conscious
and intentional obedience to the will of God. He knew that he
held his life absolutely at the disposal of another, and he
would not,
if he could, have prolonged it beyond its appointed time. In
this
respect believers now are in full sympathy and accord with him.
For
them to live is Christ (Philippians
1:21).
Their supreme desire
is that Christ may
be magnified in their body, whether by life or
by death (Ibid. v. 20). They
desire to honor their Savior in their
dying as well as in their living work. “Whether they live they
live
unto the Lord; and whether they die they die unto the Lord;
whether they live therefore or die, they are the Lord’s.”
(Romans 14:8)
Ø
Moses, however, takes
a journey, knowing just when and where he
should die. It is not easy for us to enter into his feelings
then. (No
doubt Aaron [ch. ] and Abraham in the
matter of the offering of
Isaac, [Genesis 22:1-14]
could fully
sympathize with him – CY – 2012)
The
time and place of our death are entirely unknown to us. How could
we bear it if it were otherwise? Or if we could, how could our
fondest
ones on earth? We are often glad to throw ourselves anew on God,
in thankfulness at
the uncertainty
which shrouds the future.
We cheerfully say:
“Lord,
it belongs not to our care
Whether we die or live.”
But what a pall would seem
to be thrown over the home, if it
were disclosed when we should be called away! The holier and
more beautiful the life, the more painful would the thought of
parting with it be.
VOUCHSAFED. (v. 2.) “The Lord showed him all the land.” The
vision
was in part physical,
but that which faith beheld in the glorious future
which was assured to
the people of God, was by far the most precious
part of the sight —
incomparably so. Thus the Lord was
merciful to Moses,
in that, though
his joy in death was checked by the sense of his own defect
and failures, he would, on the other hand, be borne up by the
thought that
GOD HAD NEVER FAILED AND NEVER WOULD! The future, from
which he was cut off, would assuredly develop gloriously under
the care
and grace of
death, they know that, though they die, GOD’S CHURCH WILL LIVE
ON and that the promised inheritance will yet be theirs. And many, many
a believer has had a vision, in death, akin to that of Stephen, (Acts 7:55-56)
and, though appalled at his own shortcomings, has been borne up by a sight
of Jesus, as “mighty to save,”
and as the Captain of salvation, who
will
bring the Church onward to the FULLNESS OF REDEMPTION!
WILL BE ABSOLUTELY ALONE WITH GOD. Moses lay himself
down to die, without any attendant by his side. However many
there
might have been around, between himself and God no one could
possibly
come. He must die alone; so must we. Alone must we pass through
“death’s
iron gate,” save as we can use the words “Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with
me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). There is but
ONE whose real presence can comfort us then.
HIM. (v. 6.) “The Lord
buried him,” says the editor, “and no
man
knoweth of his sepulcher
unto this day.” Some have assigned it as a
reason
for the concealment of the body of Moses, “that his tomb might
not
become the occasion of idolatry or superstition.” Others,
rejecting this as
inconsistent with the known fact that in the eye of the Hebrews every
dead
body was unclean, have sought for a reason by comparing Jude 9
with
Matthew 17. They deem it not
improbable that there might be some change
in the body of Moses in death, which would account for his
appearing in
the Transfiguration scene with another, who was taken up to
heaven
without dying, and also for the mysterious conflict over the body,
of
which Jude informs us. This may have been, but we can go no
further than
the text takes us by the hand. It suffices to know that God
oared for Moses’
body as well as for him. The body of believers is now the
temple of the
Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19). Christ is “the Savior of
the body”
(Ephesians 5:23). The Spirit who dwells in us will quicken the
mortal
body at the resurrection.
FIND NO PARALLEL TO IT.
(v. 10.) (See next Homily.) Every
worker for God has his own distinctive work, which only he can do.
WORK OF MOSES, SO THAT IT WILL NOT FALL TO PIECES
WHEN HE DIES. (v. 9.) Joshua is ready. So that there are no chasms in
the service.
HISTORICAL BUT A SYMBOLIC FACT. It is not a lawgiver alone
who can had the Church on to
“The Law was given by Moses, but [the] grace and [the] truth came by
Jesus Christ.” Moses had propounded truth in his legislative precept and
teachings. He had taught God’s grace in the institutions of
sacrifice, and in
the ordinances of worship, prayer, and praise. But the truth
he disclosed,
the grace he declared,
were brought in by another, long ages after, for
whose work he was intended to prepare the way. “The Law was a child-
guide until Christ.”
(Galatians 3:24) Happy are they
whose life-work is
in harmony with the plan of Him who seeth
the end from the beginning!
Happy they, whether in more prominent
or more obscure positions, who
are in their Lord’s own appointed way workers together with Him!
Posthumous
Influence (v. 9)
Although dead, Moses still ruled. His spirit reappeared in
his successor.
The principles of Moses had been planted in the nature of
Joshua: these
had
flourished and come to maturity. The memory of Moses was still a
mighty power in
the Lord
commanded Moses.” The legislator had
molded and trained the
warrior. Moses was promoted to higher honor, because Joshua was
better
qualified for this new work — the realization of
·
NOTE THE HIGH QUALIFICATION OF JOSHUA. He was “full of
the spirit of wisdom.” This
is a rare gift. By nature he had been endowed
with strength and fearless courage, so that he had been
military lieutenant
to Moses all through the desert. He was illustrious also for
diligence and
fidelity in a long career of service. Among the spies dispatched to
he (in company with Caleb) had been faithful among
the faithless found.
Now to courage and unbending
loyalty there was added another
endowment, and this in amplest measure: he was “filled with the spirit of
wisdom.” “To
him that hath, it shall be given.” (Mark
4:25)
·
OBSERVE THE METHOD BY WHICH THIS WISDOM WAS
ACQUIRED. “Moses
had laid his hands upon him.” We need not limit our
thoughts to a solitary act, even though it might be a solemn and
religious
act. We may rather think of the plastic, formative influence
which Moses
had exerted over the growing character of this young man. It
is astonishing
what immense power God has entrusted to our hands for
fashioning and
embellishing the spiritual nature of men. By a wise employment of
spiritual
energy, we can direct
into right channels the lives of many; by implanting
right principles into youth, and by awakening into vigorous
activity the
latent forces of character, we may elevate a city — we may influence the
destinies of the world.
·
MARK THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT. “The children of
hearkened unto him.” Moses
influenced for good his servant Joshua.
Joshua influenced for good the
nation of
force of Joshua’s character, and yielded to the wisdom
which he displayed.
They were a different people as
the consequence of Joshua’s leadership.
He touched, through
of Joshua provoked the imitation of the tribes. His combined
wisdom and
energy led them on to triumph. By virtue of his superlative
wisdom he
became, IN GOD’S HANDS a Savior, and remains, in name and office,
the type of the world’s Redeemer.
10 “And
there arose not a prophet since in
the LORD knew face to face,” - “For the Lord was revealed to him face to
face” (Onkelos) - (Compare Exodus 33:11) - The
knowledge here referred to
was
not merely that cognizance which God as the Omniscient has of all men,
but
that special knowledge by which men, being known
of God, are made to
know Him (compare I
Corinthians 8:3). The statement in this verse could only
have been inserted some time after the death of Moses, and after the people
had
had manifestations of God’s presence with them, both by communications
from Him through the prophets and by the successes which He had given them
over their enemies. But it is not necessary to suppose that a long period
during
which a lengthened succession of prophets had arisen had
elapsed. “Moses was
the founder and
mediator of the old covenant. As long as this covenant was to
last, no prophet
could arise in
worthy of greater honor than Moses, namely, the Apostle and High
Priest
of our
profession, who is placed as a Son over all the house of God, in
which Moses was found
faithful as a servant (compare Hebrews
3:2-6 with
Numbers 12:7), JESUS CHRIST, THE
FOUNDER AND MEDIATOR OF
THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT!”
“Face to Face;” or, The Secret of Power (v. 10)
“Whom the Lord knew face to face.” Such is the remarkable expression
used with regard to Moses. This certainly implies that there was in his case
unusual closeness of fellowship with God. There are expressions
not
dissimilar in Numbers 12:7-8, but yet we must make allowance for the
prevalence of the vividness of Eastern imagery, and not press the
literalness
of
the words too closely. In fact, we are guarded against that by the words
in
Exodus 33:20.
To what extent Moses saw any manifested form, it is not likely
we shall
ever in this state of being, be able to tell. It is the duty of thoughtful
men to
penetrate beneath the archaisms and Orientalisms
of the ancient text, and to
seize the permanent truth which underlies them. The thought
which we
here detect as that which is under the surface is this — that Moses had very
close communion with God.
Every spirit
which yearns after God may hold communion with God. And
inasmuch as “every man’s life is a plan of God,” God may make
that
fellowship serve any
purposes He has for the man to fulfill. By
such
communion there may be:
(1) an inner life of devotion and an outer life of godliness to
be nurtured
and
sustained; or there may be
(2) a spur and a pressure applied to high and holy service in
one specific
direction, this is the case where men are borne along to the
fulfillment of a
special mission; or there may be
(3) some new truth or clearer light which God wills to impart to
and
through the soul so communing with Him.
Now, there is a specific term for each of these three
effects of communion
with God.
A. When it simply subserves
the life of holiness which all may lead,
we call it religion;
B.
When it is made
tributary to a special form of service,
we call it inspiration;
C.
When it is made the
means of causing new truth to appear,
we call it revelation.
The latter has been realized by those few — extremely few —
of the
human race by whom God has unfolded new truth. The medial one
has
been experienced by the more numerous souls who have been borne along
as
by a special outside force to the fulfillment of a great mission. The first-
named is the common
privilege of all God-fearing souls.
Moses was one of the very few who enjoyed the privilege of
“seeing the
Unseen One” for all three purposes; and the four following
sentences will
sum
up his life:
·
By the power of RELIGION he lived the life of the saint.
·
By that of INSPIRATION he
discharged the functions of leader,
administrator, and recorder.
·
By that of REVELATION he had the
visions of the seer.
·
COMMUNION WITH GOD was the secret of all: “face to face.”
To those who understand
communion with God, either of the three will be
regarded as in the highest degree reasonable, intelligible, and
credible.
Those who do not know what it is
to pour out the soul unto God, may
indeed accept all three in a formal manner, but they can go no
further. And
if such formal believers should
chance to be subject to the fierce storms of
modern criticism, there is no telling but they may come to
deny them all;
yea, they may come to think that religion, inspiration, and
revelation are
swept clean away; and all because they understand nothing of man’s
highest privilege — COMMUNION WITH GOD!
11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to
do
in the
his land,
12 And in all that mighty hand, and in
all the great terror
which Moses shewed in
the sight of all
The Death and Burial of
Moses (1-12)
We have in this concluding chapter the remarkable account
of the death
and
burial of Moses. He had, as we have seen, blessed the tribes; he had
laid his hands on Joshua (v. 9), and thus ordained him, so to speak, to the
leadership; he had given his manuscripts to the priests to be
deposited in
the
ark; and now all that remains for him to do is to take the course God
indicated to the mountain-top, see the Promised Land, and die. It
has
suggested some noble sermons, to which we would at once refer before
proceeding with a few observations suggested by the history.
·
LET US NOTICE THE VIEW OF
THE MOUNTAIN-TOP.
It is evident, we think, that Moses went up the
mountain without an escort. He was going up to hold high communion
with God, as he had done on Sinai. Mountain-tops are favorite
places for
communion with God in the case of busy men like Moses and our Savior
(compare
Luke 9:28). It was a sublime solitude, filled with the presence of
God. Sooner or
later, God draws His servants upwards out of the bustle of
life to have special communion with Him and finish their course
with joy.
Moses, moreover, had an undimmed
eye at this time, and his natural force
was in no wise abated. His outlook was consequently clear. The
land of
promise lay out before him in all its attractiveness, and he could
have
wished to cross the
But the view of it, clear and
glorious, is all that in the present life he is to
receive. Now, it is sometimes insinuated that saintly,
self-denying men,
whose lives according to worldly notions have been incomplete
and
unsuccessful, are unable to form a proper judgment about their careers,
and
must regret them. But as a rule, God gives in life’s last hours
the
“undimmed eye,” and
His servants are enabled to see life’s relations clearly,
and the land of promise under the sunset glow. They regret
their
incomplete lives as little as Moses did his from the mountain-top.
Jonathan Edwards notices, in his
‘Notes on the Bible,’ that “God ordered
that Aaron and Moses should go up to the tops of mountains to
die, to
signify that the death of godly men is but an entrance into a
heavenly
state;” and Baumgarten has made a
similar remark regarding the death of
Aaron. “The circumstance that it
was expressly fixed that Aaron should die
upon a mountain, and so upon a place which through its very
nature points
to heaven, the seat of Jehovah, throws into the darkness of
his death a ray
(Strahl) of hope.” The
mountain-tops to these great brothers were indeed
the gate of heaven, whence clear views of life and of the
hereafter were
obtained.
·
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH OF MOSES ARE
UNIQUE IN THEIR SIMPLE MAJESTY. It has been said that the
presence of Moses on the mount of Transfiguration must have
suggested a
contrast between his death on the top of Pisgah and our Lord’s
approaching death amid the mocking crowds at Jerusalem.f3 And what
a
contrast there is between the two departures! In the one case, the
servant
of God dies amid the solemn grandeur of the hills, with the
sunset glow
around him — dies, as some Jewish doctors say, “of the kiss of
the
Eternal;” in the other case, our
Lord dies amid the ribaldry and scoffing of
overcrowded
Moses dying on the threshold of
the Promised Land; but there was an
element of glory in the death-bed among the mountains.
·
GOD IN HIS LOVE NOT ONLY TOOK CHARGE OF THE
DYING BUT ALSO OF THE DEAD. He died
with God; and God
buried him. No wonder the poetess calls it “the grandest funeral that
ever passed on earth.”
“And had
he not high honor? —
The
hill-side for his pall;
To lie in state,
while angels wait
With stars
for tapers tall;
And the
dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes,
Over his
bier to wave;
And God’s
own hand, in that lonely land,
To lay him in the grave!”
This disposal of the body, as
well as of the departed spirit, was surely a
significant act on the part of God. He took the matter as completely
out of
the hands of
of the keeping of the Roman guard. Was it not to indicate
that the body as
well as the soul is to share in the redeeming care of God, and
so far an
earnest of the resurrection?
·
THE PRIVACY OF THE TOMB IS ALSO INSTRUCTIVE.
Manifestly all
rest, his death and his Divine burial, they were dependent upon
faith —
they believed him when he told them he was going away by death,
and that
they need make no preparations for him, as God would bury him.
Had it
not been for his prophetic notice, they might have concluded
he was
translated. It was a matter of faith entirely, and no
searching could bring it
within the range of sight. The privacy of the tomb compelled them
to take
the funeral and burial on trust. The mourning and weeping for
a month
arose really from faith; Moses was not — God took him; but they
had only
Moses’ word
for it that he was to die with God, and be buried by Him.
And God’s dealing with our dead
must remain still a matter of faith to us,
though of fruition unto them. We believe the very dust of the
saints is dear
to God, but we have to put their remains in a coffin, and
deposit them amid
common clay. We believe their spirits are in His safekeeping, but they send
no messages and make no sign. If sense is the measure of our
knowledge,
then assuredly we may put Christian hope into the realm of
beautiful
dreams, of which there is as little sensible evidence as of
Moses’ tomb. But
there are “foundations of
faith” as strong as those of sense and sight. In
such assurance, we believe that God took charge of Moses, body
and soul,
and He will take as real and as faithful charge of us.
The Distinctive Greatness of Moses (vs.
10-12)
These closing verses do not touch upon the character of
Moses, but upon his unique
position as a prophet. “There
arose not a prophet since in
(v. 10). This does not exactly ascribe inferiority, but rather dissimilarity to all who had
followed, up to the date of this
editorial postscript. “Nothing can have two beginnings;”
and
in this lies the one and sufficient
reason why Moses could not be followed in the
after ages by
any one who took a like position with his own. Purposely avoiding
any
outline of the character of Moses, we propose to enumerate a few of those
features
in
which the work of Moses was altogether unique, and ever must so remain.
OF GOD AND HIS GRACIOUS RELATIONSHIPS TO OUR RACE,
AS THE CORNER-STONE OF A
INSTITUTES AND TEACHINGS, THE ONE PRINCIPLE THAT
“WITHOUT SHEDDING OF BLOOD IS NO REMISSION.” Sacrifice
was adopted in other nations as a human expedient for
appeasing Divine
wrath; Moses declares it to be a Divine appointment for the
acknowledgment of human sin and of the Divine holiness.
PRINCIPLES AND THE TRUE BASIS OF THE NOBLEST HUMAN
ETHICS “BE YE HOLY; FOR I
AM HOLY.”
GOD AS THE SPRING OF ALL OBEDIENCE, AND TO ASSIGN AS
THE REASON FOR THEIR LOVE THE CARE OF GOD TO THEM.
(ch.5:6; 6:5)
TO DEMAND OF A TYRANT THE LIBERATION OF AN
OPPRESSED PEOPLE, AND TO FORM THEM INTO A NEW
COMMONWEALTH, WITH THE AVOWED AIM AND PURPOSE OF
PLANTING IN THE WORLD A NEW
RELIGIOUS FAITH AND LIFE.
(ch.
7:1-11; 9:1-6.)
EDUCATION OF A WHOLE PEOPLE IN THE THINGS OF GOD;
WITH VIRTUE AND PIETY FOR ITS LESSONS, AND THE HOME
FOR ITS TRAINING-SCHOOL. (ch.
6:1-9; 10:12-22; 11:18-21; 31:12-13)
PEOPLE TO SELF-GOVERNMENT. They were to choose their
own
officers, judges, and magistrates, according
to principles of righteousness.
And (as we have shown in loc.)
even the government of Jehovah was not
forced upon them. Their consent was asked again and again; and
their
solemn, loud “Amen” was required, confirming the sentence of God
as if it
were their own. Thus from the first the people were made
“workers
together with God.”
Others might follow on in all these respects, but no one
else ever could be like Moses in
starting all this new national
life, thought, and virtue, in organized form. And yet how
much more than one like Moses do we need for a
world’s regeneration and a
Church’s education!” If there had been
a Law given which should have given life,
verily righteousness
should have been by the Law” (Galatians 3:21).
But “what the
Law could not do,” God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:3).
Moses can give
rules. ONLY
THE LORDTHE SPIRIT CAN GIVE LIFE!
A Greater than Moses has come, and has created by his power a new
commonwealth,
whose πολίτευμα – politeuma – citizenship - is in the heavens. In this “new
lo!
“all things are made new” (II Peter 3:13).
Communion with God the Secret of
Real Power (vs. 10-12)
Leaving out of view our Lord Jesus Christ, there is no man
who has left so
deeply the impress of his character upon the world as the Jewish
legislator.
By no man have so many and such mighty works been achieved.
By no
man
has such wise legislation been devised for the government of human
society. By no man has a great national emancipation been so
skillfully and
successfully executed. At the time of our Lord, Moses still wielded a
mighty scepter among the Jewish nation; and from that day to
this, the
influence of Moses has been powerfully felt. The history of the
Western
world would have been very different from what it is, if Moses
had found
an
early grave among the rushes of the
“man of God.”
·
COMMUNION WITH GOD IS
THE HIGHEST ADVANTAGE MAN
CAN ENJOY. The friendship of a wise and great man is an inestimable
boon. To be in the society of a good man for an hour leaves a
purifying and
an elevating stimulus behind. We feel better and nobler for
the contact.
And if the friendly influence
of a good man can find its way to intellect and
conscience and feeling, how much more can
the influence and energy of
God! There is no doubt that God can
find access to the nature HE HAS
MADE and can enrich it with all good. The question is whether, considering
our great demerit, Will He? This question also is completely
answered by
Himself. He invites us to the closest friendship — welcomes us to fullest
intimacy. The
words of Jesus Christ suffice to allay all doubt, “If any man
love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him,
and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23 – this is one
of the most meaningful scriptures to me/us in the Bible – CY
– 2020)
We may not have visions of God
precisely after the form and fashion that
Moses had: these were
adapted to a particular state of human development;
but we may have contact with God as close — communion as sweet and
tender, as ever Moses enjoyed.
“The
fellowship of the Holy Ghost”
(II Corinthians 13:14) is our special
privilege. To us “the Spirit of truth”
(John 16:13) is given. And “truly
our fellowship is with the Father, and with
His Son Jesus
Christ.” (I
John 1:3)
·
COMMUNION WITH GOD PRODUCES
REAL GREATNESS OF
CHARACTER. As
a result of the intimacy between God and Moses, we
read, there “arose not a prophet since in
Intercourse with
God purifies every feeling, elevates every aspiration,
energizes every sterling principle, ennobles the whole man. The creative
influence of the Almighty renews our innermost life. In the presence of
God we become ashamed of our
meanness and pride and folly. We see and
feel how noble it is possible to become. We confess into His
fatherly ear our
sin: we resolve to do better in the future. The assurance of
His sympathy
and aid encourages us. We grow up into His image; we gradually
find that
this is our proper destiny — “to be conformed to the image of
His Son.”
(Romans 8:29)
·
COMMUNION WITH GOD GIVES
AND OVER MEN.
It is admitted by scientists that the human
will is the
greatest force known, SAVE THE POWER OF
GOD! Now, fellowship
with God strengthens that will.
To His chosen friends, God conveys new
power. On man was originally bestowed complete dominion over
nature;
and this prerogative is to be restored through the man Christ
Jesus. Thus the
prodigies wrought by Moses are declared to be signs — symbols of
greater
things yet to be achieved. Our Lord has taught us that true faith can
overturn the mountains. (Mark 11:23) The possessor of
faith is predicted,
like Christ, to do mighty deeds.
The Greatness
of Moses (vs. 10-12)
It was a greatness entirely
unique. “There arose not a prophet since in
His greatness lay largely in character. As a man — in
respect of
qualities of character — Moses was one of the greatest men who have
ever
lived; perhaps, all things taken together, the greatest
next to Christ. But so
entirely is Moses the man lost in his relation to God as
instrument of His
will and work, that his greatness in the former respect is not in these
verses
even referred to. Moses is overshadowed by the God of Moses, whose
power he wielded, and in whose Name alone he wrought. This
greatness of
Moses arose:
·
FROM THE RELATION OF PECULIAR INTIMACY HE HELD TO
GOD. “There
arose not a prophet since in
the Lord knew face to face” (ibid.). In this
greatness Moses stood alone
till there arose that greater Prophet, whose advent he had
predicted
(ch.
18:18).
·
FROM THE GREATNESS OF HIS WORK. (v. 11.) He was sent to
·
IN THE POWER OF GOD PUT FORTH THROUGH HIM. (vs. 11-12.)
True
greatness therefore lies:
Ø
in power of near approach to God;
Ø
in great work done for God; and
Ø
in spiritual power
exerted through God acting in and with us.
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